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Buddha Amitābha with Two Attending Bodhisattvas

1200s

China, Southern Song dynasty

(1127-1279)
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Measurements
Painting: 134 x 79.7 cm (52 3/4 x 31 3/8 in.); Overall with knobs: 224.5 x 101.5 cm (88 3/8 x 39 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1974.35
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Each line of calligraphy, which invokes the Buddha's name, emerges from a lotus blossom.

Description

The supreme deities that rule over the Western Paradise—Amitābha (阿彌陀 in Chinese), Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin 觀音), and Mahāsthāmaprāpta (Dashizhi 大勢至)—are here enclosed within a circle of light. To secure entry into that paradise for Buddhist followers of the Pure Land sect, one must recite the phrase namo amituofo (南無阿彌陀佛, Homage to the Buddha Amitābha). Here the phrase is repeated 10 times in calligraphy above the figures, reinforcing the need for continual recitation.
A hanging scroll with a brown background depicts Amida Buddha standing centrally between two slightly smaller Bodhisattvas. All three wear patterned red, green, and gold robes. A large golden halo emits thin rays toward ten columns of calligraphy at the top, where each character group rests on a pink lotus. The figures have medium-light skin; Buddha's hand is raised to his chest while the flanking Bodhisattvas hold ritual objects.

Buddha Amitābha with Two Attending Bodhisattvas

1200s

China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)

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